One of the great things about blogging on Active Rain is that we are exposed to Realtors® all across the United States and Canada who work in 
every imaginable sort of real estate office. And every once in a while, I notice maybe a wee bit of proselytizing in a post or a comment - my company and business model is the best and you are a big fat dummie if you don't give it a try. Then there will follow a chain of comments that feel like the writers are holding up a cross to ward off evil demons!
But you know what? The best business model, company and office is the one that works for you!
My company is a small boutique firm that a lot of you might find a little too retro. While we're pretty tech savvy, we are the old fashioned high priced spread, offering a high quality of servcie to our clients. And we do it well. We've made some adjustments as the market has changed, but this basic business model is working very well for me and my company in our market area.
And it's not everybody's cup of tea.
Whether you work at a boutique like Evers & Company, a large firm like Long and Foster, ReMax, Keller Williams or Coldwell Banker, or one of the new online or limited service companies, you have to ask yourself, "Am I happy and prosperous? Is this office working for me?"
So I guess what I'm saying is there is no one best business model - this is not a One Size Fits All marketplace, either for the companies that compete for agents to populate their offices, or for the clients whose business we work so hard to earn.
We all have choices. Lots of them! In the real estate marketplace, choice is a good thing both for agents and consumers.
Pat - You are absolutely right! Choice is a good thing.
Pat: There is a real estate office for every type of personality. What I like most about mine is the way that the agents support one another. It's a very positive place to be.
Pat - you are so right. We all have choices . I want to say, finaly I found my HOME. My brojerage offers what exactly I was looking for in a RE company.
I love choices. Having to stay would not be motivating and I have always told myself I will love my job. I do! It feels awesome
Pat: That is one of the nice things about this business, you can tailor it to service a particular niche, whether that be style, culture or agency. There are a lot of different personality types out there to serve and they need our individuality to be there for them. I think it's great. Be true to yourself (and your clients.)
Hi Patricia~ It would be so boring if we didn't have choices, wouldn't it? I have noticed that some of the comments lately were touting that their company is the best. Maybe it is for them, but I am so thankful we have options. I guess we all tend to think the company we work for is the best. I just strive to be the best I can be no matter who I work for! I still say people hire us for "us" not because of the company we work for.....
I agree, Pat, and more to the point is if the agent is prospering enough to relate well with other agents regardless of who their affiliated with. I've been with companies that strong arm you into referring through their "relocation departments" only to get a lousy agent on the other end. Realtors, like the clients we serve, have individual gifts and strengths. I don't care who they work for if they can help a client reach their objective, it works for me.
So right -- whatever works for the person is the best -- and it might be something different at different points in their career.
and Pat - what works today - may not work tomorrow. Everyone changes; as do our own business models.
Pat - If only my first choice was the right choice.....but at least I feel comfortable knowing it doesn't get any better for ME than where I am right NOW.
Sharon, that's one of the thing I really love about this business. It keeps any one owner from getting too cocky with his agents.
Chris Ann, that's the best kind of place to work.
Suma, ditto!
Nanette, our having choices keep the company owners on their toes!
Claudette, in this market we all can use a niche to work in.
Vickie, you're right! People do hire us for us! And I think that the company I work for should be a plus when they decide on me.
Ken, my relocation company is Active Rain!
Bob and Carolin, I've worked for three companies that sold out to other firms and changed pretty dramatically over time.
James, you and I are walking around proof of that! I think it's important to be able to roll with the punches and make smart business decisions when an office stops working.
Carol, any brokerage with an Irish name has to be great!
Hi Pat, very smart post. And who would complain about working where you do since you just got back from the Evers & Co flat in Paris? LOL.. :D
Pat, congratulations! You are one smart cookie, and that is why when I make it make to AR, I try to catch up on your observations. My broker and I left a big box last summer and have never looked back. We didn't see the return for the buck, but everyone has their own decision to make. If you need a big "name" on your business cards and want to pay for it, great. If you need to carve your own niche and capitalize on your own strengths, great. Everyone does what they need to do. Thank you for a great post!
Andrea, yeah, that apartment has to be the best recruiting tool I've ever come across!
And Suzanne, sounds like you and your broker made a great move!
To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: aye, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
We are fortunate and unsecure to choose in our business. I like it because I don't have to ask if you want fries
Hi Patricia -- I couldn't agree more. Consumers can choose what they need and agents as well. Well said.
Am I losing my mind or did I read this last night? It's a great post, but I did think I read this last night???
Patricia- Whatever floats your boat! That is what I say. To each his or her own. We worked for big companies, small botique companies and now we own our independent small brokerage and we love it the most. It works for us.
Pat.. tisk tisk tisk.... shaking my head. My business model is the best and only the best. Because I said so...
LOL... I wish I could leave like 5 rolling smiling faces, laughing my arse off. I hope you know I was kidding. Yes, you are absolutely right in your statement. "what works for you"... but I have seen some business models that loan officers thought worked for them, and I saw many wholes in it and could prove that it wasn't good. Production and time spent on clients was my proof. Some have listened and some haven't.
In any case, kind of funny on how I wrote my blog today about Big vs small companies, and that you talked about business models, which kind of could fit into what I was getting at... thanks
Maybe I am a lonely wolf, but I fail to see the benefit of a large company. We are on our own, so in all honesty if we have access to technology, why not be working for yourself?
I have difficulty seeing a company as a company. I still see individuals, who have their license with someone, as a right to work, but for experienced agent this is the extent of what the company gives them.
So, AR resolved the issue of training and advice on any situation there might be, and if you have the printer, website, services, which we still have individually, then why do we need a company?
Patricia, someone from one of those large companies has been trying to recruit me forever. They love where they work and they can't say enough great things about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. They have to bad mouth where I work, to make theirs more attractive.
The place where I work - has worked fine for me. If I'm not doing better, it's probably my fault.
I don't think where you work is what makes you successful. I think we have to work hard, regardless of where we work; and we have to push ourselves to do better every day.
Changing companies isn't going to make me hit the jackpot if nothing else changes.
Et oui, vive la difference!! :)
Patricia: A wee bit? You're a kind soul, and a soft touch. I suspect many folks are excited about things they think are great. Lot's have a natural tendency to want to share. The rational mind can weigh alternatives. We are in sales ya know!
You are right.....just like housing, everyones needs are different, and what makes one happy, makes another unhappy!
Hi Pat... Great post... if everyone liked the same thing, Baskin Robins would only make 1 flavor of ice cream. It's the same with brokerages. Each agent responds to different factors, environments and cultures. Fortunately there is something for each of us out there and if our needs change over time, there are still options out there for each of us.
I have tried to cram the Cinderella slipper on my foot, really pinches. I am in a big name brokerage with a small friendly office and it is working for me.
You deserve the star for this one my friend, because you are right, like you I couldn't work for the big companies, it didn't fit me! But, I have no problem with those who do, it works for them.
Pat, Congrats on the star. You are right about about finding a place that works for you...
Your building consultant for life in Nashville, TN
Pat,
You are so right ma'am, it is the company that works for each one of us that is the right company. We need to be comfortable where we are.
Pat - Never really gave it much consideration, but that must be because I found the right fit. I started with a big name, and left when my broker started her own business.
I find the office must be a good fit. And more imporantly (at least for me) the managing broker has to be a good click with you. In my opinion, your managing broker is the key to your success. If you have a good one, they'll guide you and mold you into an excellent agent... by example and osmosis.
If you have a mediocre, lazy or bad one... well.... who knows.
Hi Pat-CONGRATS on the feature. The sayings different strokes for different folks and if you are happy doing what you are doing comes to mind as I read this. Great post. Nicely done <SMILE>
You are correct...it's not what is the latest fad about "where to work", but what makes you MOTIVATED and INSPIRED and what office helps you on your own journey!
So true. I love being in a comfort zone at all times. I am looking at a small company right now that could save me about $40,000 a year in expenses. Talk about a comfort zone.
Claude, one summer I had a job at an un-airconditioned Hallmark Card factory in Kansas. That was a wake up call!
Katerina, that pretty much sums it up!
Jeff, good point! But if it doesn't work for clients, only a delusional agent or loan officer wouldn't have to regroup.
Jon, working for oneself is for the very brave! My broker provides something that I would miss out on my own - like the colleagues in my office, who are always teaching me something!
Sylvie, you are correct. Still, I've found that I can do better in a certain type of work environment than in others.
Matt, I'm a fan of understatement.
Pat, you are so right.
Steve, but then we'd still have Ben & Jerry's!
Virginia, it can certainly be argued that the office is more important that the company.
Thank you, Michael!
Don, I can't imagine anything worse than a bad fit - like Virginia said!
Todd, clearly big works for a lot of people. In our area there is a huge independent with many great agents. They bought my old company and I was out the door almost immediately. And it was a business decision about my personal needs, not that they were not a fine company.
Judy, around here that is very rare! Good for you!
Alan, amen to that one!
Sharon, thank you!
And Sheila, I totally agree!
Pat,
There are just so many different ways to be successful as long as you define your niche and then do a good job.
In an one to one world, as the mass market gives way to the personal market... boutique brokerages may be the big winners!
Pat.....choices, what or where would we be without choices.
Choices ar e always nice, I do believe that the right fit is important.
Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH Real Estate
Joe, I don't know that I'm always in my comfort zone in my office, but I've started liking being outside of it.
Steven, that's even more true today with some of the newer firms offering alternative serivces.
Lonn, I agree, and that seems to go against today's "conventional wisdom".
Bebecca and Patricia, I can't imagine life without choices!
Love your last comment, I can't imagine life without choices! Great post!
Pat ~ you've made a great point here. None of us can be all things to all people .. it's the same for those of us who own staging companies. The best formula is finding a niche that works for YOU and letting the clients choose. Glad to see that so many agree with you!
Pat - I agree wholeheartedly with you, especially as the owner of a smaller independent company. :) I often tell my agents that clients do not typically choose a company - they choose an individual.
Hi Pat!
This is right up my alley. I had to ask this question about a month ago, and it was a no. So I went searching for my new office, found it, packed my bags, and now I'm here enjoying my new view. I hope when I ask that question in another year, it will be a YES! :)
-Lisa
Pat, Great point, different things work for different agents. I think it's important to find your special niche and office setting and stick with it as long as it's working.
As many different styles as there are agents and the great thing is they will work for all of us. Thanks for the post.
Pat - I love the phrase "the best business model is the one that works for you" and that could mean working on your own. Glad you found the one that works for you.
Excellent point! There is no one-sized fits all model. Thank-you Pat!
Hi, Pat, welcome home! I missed this when it was featured, but I was just scrolling down your posts to catch up and this one grabbed me. You're right! We all have an environment that works for us, and that's where we should be.